Magnetic drive units, such as the type utilized in pumps, are well known in the art. It is known, for example, that molded plastic driver magnets can be used in such pumps. Typically, a driver magnet is rotated by a motor-driven shaft. By magnetic force, the rotating driver magnet causes a coaxial magnet carried by an impeller to rotate. Consequently, vanes on the impeller then force a liquid to exit through a discharge outlet.
Some driver magnets known in the art contain a sintered ceramic magnet cemented or otherwise attached to a plastic or metal hub that can be threaded onto a motor shaft. Attaching a ceramic magnet to a hub, however, is cumbersome and expensive to manufacture.
The present invention is advantageous in that it utilizes a molded plastic magnetic driver and can include an insert assembly wherein the insert is threadably engaged to a motor shaft in a self-positioning and self-locking fashion. Therefore, the need exists for a one-piece molded plastic magnetic driver assembly that can be threaded onto a motor shaft.